I’ve had the same problem, it almost killed a couple of my potted plants when it stopped working. Rachio sent me a new unit (kudos on that) but when I open it, it looks like the same design. There’s no way that little rubber foam pad can seal this battery compartment properly. The non-smart Orbit and other valves I’ve used have a much more robust battery sealing setup and I’ve used those for years with no leaking.
Has anyone managed to keep these from leaking? Like maybe some silicone grease or something?
If I keep having to check these units to make sure my lemon trees don’t dry out, I don’t know if there’s any incremental value over the non-smart versions I’ve always used. Occasionally skipping a cycle due to rain isn’t enough of a value if I end up losing my plants altogether due to random dying of batteries.